The Jockey Club today announced the election of five new members: Chester Broman, Louis Cella, Kenny Troutt, Vinnie Viola, and Kevin Warsh.
Chester Broman is co-owner of Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, N.Y., with his wife, Mary. He has served on the board of the New York Racing Association, the New York Breeders Sales Company, and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. The Bromans have been named Breeder of the Year four times by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. Besides his Thoroughbred breeding and racing interests, Broman is the owner and chairman of several Long Island general contracting businesses and has served on the board of the Long Island Contractors Association.
Louis A. Cella serves on the board of directors of the Oaklawn Jockey Club as well as his family's Southwestern Enterprises Inc., and Southern Real Estate and Financial Co. Prior to the sale of RaceTech in 2016, Cella was instrumental in bringing the historical racing system to racing states such as Kentucky. In 2017, Cella became the third generation of this family to serve on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations. His grandfather, John G. Cella, served as president of the organization from 1959 -- 1960, and his father, Oaklawn President Charles J. Cella, served as president from 1975 -- 1976. Oaklawn has been owned by the Cella family since its founding in 1904.
Kenny Troutt owns the 2,700-acre WinStar Farm LLC based in Versailles, Ky. Under the banner of WinStar Farm, Troutt has won the Kentucky Derby with Super Saver, the Belmont Stakes with Creator, and the Breeders' Cup Classic with Drosselmeyer. WinStar has earned two Eclipse Awards (as leading owner in 2010 and as leading breeder in 2016). In 1988, the Dallas resident founded Excel Communications, a long-distance telephone service company that integrated the growing demand for telecommunications service with the power of relationship marketing, and it became a publicly traded enterprise in 1996.
Vinnie Viola and his wife, Teresa, started purchasing racehorses in the late 1990s and eventually formed St. Elias Stables, which, together with Teresa's Viola Racing Stables, has won the Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming and the Breeders' Cup Mile with Liam's Map, among other major stakes races. Following a successful career on Wall Street, Viola now devotes a substantial amount of his time to his horse breeding and racing business, supporting the U.S. Army and its soldiers through his family foundation and advocating for quality education for underserved inner city students. Viola is also the owner of the Florida Panthers of the NHL and a governor on the NHL's board of governors.
Kevin Warsh, a native of upstate New York, is the co-owner of Jump Sucker Stable LLC, which has campaigned stakes winners Blacktype and Sea Coast. He served as a member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 until 2011. He is the Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and lecturer at its Graduate School of Business. He also advises several private and public companies and serves on the board of directors of UPS.
The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It is the sole funding source for America's Best Racing, the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing. You can follow America's Best Racing at americasbestracing.net. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com
